Overseas
by humbleramblings
Summary: Chibs' firstborn daughter, Roxanne Telford, and her best friend find themselves in a predicament that that uproots them from their hometown of Glasgow, Scotland and lands them right in the middle of the "quaint" little town of Charming, California. Just like her father, conflict and violence seem to chase her all her life. And maybe, just maybe, it might chase her right into the ar
1. Chapter 1

"Ma. Calm down, m'gonna be fine," She said, trying to pry her mother's worrisome arms off of her. "I know you're worried about this, but Da will be with me."

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Aye. Great comfort that is." She cupped her daughter's face. "I tried to keep you out of this life, darlin'. I never wanted you to get involved with the Sons. Samglas. Any of this shite. I tried to protect you, and now look at what's gunnae happen to you, gettin' shipped off to Samcro."

"I know, Ma, I know. But are you sure about this? Can't we stay here? I know it's dangerous and all but can't we —?"

"No, Roxanne," Her mother said. "You cannae stay here. It's not safe, I told you that. I know you don't want to do this, but this is the only way I can be sure my baby is safe. As much as I hate to admit it, you need your daddy right now." She pulled her daughter into her arms again and let her tears meld with Roxanne's shirt.

Charlotte, Roxanne's lifelong friend who had somehow gotten roped into all this as well, stood by the car. "Oi! Rox, we really ought to be goin' by now!"

"Ach!" Michelle pulled back from her daughter and wiped the tears off her face. "Char's right." A fake smile was plastered on her face. "We gotta get you on that plane. I'm sure your father's dyin' to see his little princess again."

A genuine smile bloomed on Roxanne's face. "Hey, Ma," She said, her voice gentle and soothing. "I promise I'm gunnae be okay. Tha gaol agam ort." She buried her face into her mother's shoulder and whispered, "I'll miss you, Mummy."

"Tha gaol agam ort," Her mother replied as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She gave Roxanne one more vise-like hug and a kiss, then shoved her gently. "Go, my girl." As Roxanne started to make her way to the car her mother yelled after her, "You call me when you get there, you hear?!"

She turned to her mother with her trademark smile and an eye roll. "Aye, Ma. Heard you the first thousand times."

And with that, she climbed into the car with Charlotte to headed off to the small airport. Nothing big. Given their situation, they couldn't afford the risk of going to an actual commercial airport. The Sons charter in Glasgow called in a few favors, got Roxanne and Charlotte on a trusted flight. Charlotte drove them there almost in silence, both of them wondering how they had gotten into this mess in the first place and how much they would miss home. She figured she might as well try and break the silence, Roxanne was her best friend after all.

"Exciting to see your Pa again, yeah?" Charlotte asked. Hopefully, she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

That seemed to snap Roxanne out of her daze, at least temporarily. "Yeah. Gunnae be great. Haven't seen me da in years. I miss him."

"Been quite a while since you've been around Charming though, eh? Who knows? Probably gunnae be some new and sexy Californian bikers on our hands."

Roxanne smacked her on the arm. "Not happening, Char," She said sternly. "Do not forget why we're getting shipped off to the states. This is not a joke and it's not a vacation. We aren't there to search for lads."

"We'll see when we get there then, yeah?"

"Piss off," Roxanne said, and together they sped off toward the airport and to whatever shit they got themselves into.

* * *

"House is all set, right?" Charlotte asked Roxanne again, wringing her hands as they waited for the van to pick them up.

"I told you, yes" Roxanne replied on a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We have been through this hundreds of times before, Char. House is set, we just have to get our shit moved into it. Club's waitin' for us. We have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Charlotte's teeth dug into her lip. "Doesn't Samcro have a ton of enemies, Rox? How do we know none of them will try to pick us up?"

"Seriously? The charter in Glasgow is just as bad as it is here. We're probably better off here anyway. Plus, my da told me everything has been decently quiet as of late. All the shite we just had to deal with, and now you wanna pussy out on me?"

"No, Rox! I'm not. I just — " She ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. "I guess I'm just a wee bit nervous? That shit back home rattled me and — "

The sound of a vehicle interrupted Charlotte and both her and Roxanne's head whipped around to see it. "Oh, look!" Roxanne said. "There they are. Told you it'd be fine."

The van had barely even slowed to a stop before Chibs all but threw himself out of the door. "Roxanne, baby! That you?!"

"Da!" She yelled in sheer happiness and ran at her father. "I missed you so much!" She pounced on him and swarmed him in a bear hug that practically squeezed the life out of him. He caught her with a stunned " oomph" that bubbled into a laugh. He spun her around in a circle and squeezed her with just a much force.

"Good Lord, my girl," He set her down and their smiles were enough to beat out the sun. "You've grown so much, look at ya!" He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "You look beautiful, Princess. I missed my beautiful girl so much."

She buried her face in her father's chest and let the grin overtake her face. "I missed you too, Da."

And of course, at that moment, Charlotte decided to bust in and break up the heartwarming reunion. "Filip! It's been too long."

"Charlotte, lass! I haven't seen you since you were practically a baby." He scooped her up into a hug too. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in all this, but I'm glad to see ya again."

She patted his back and tried to edge away from his all too tight embrace. "Happy to see you again, too. I barely even remember the last time." She gestured toward their ridiculous amount of luggage. "Now how bout you get that muscle you have in that van to help us with these bags? I just had to deal with an eleven-hour flight, I'm ready to get to our house."

He smiled at them and pulled them both into a hug again. "Aye." He whistled and waved his arm at the men in the van. "Juicy Boy, Hap! Out here. Now!"

The other men piled out of the car and Roxanne took a few moments to take them in. Happy, she knew. The last time she was in Charming she was about fifteen, she remembered him from then. Really nice guy, kind of unsettling though. He had a few more tattoos than she remembered, and that ominous look in his eye seemed stronger than it had been before.

The other one though, he was new. He had a mohawk and symmetrical head tattoos that she couldn't peg whether she found attractive or tacky. Broad shoulders and muscular arms that led to strong looking hands and dark, intense brown eyes. And did she just hear her father call him Juicy Boy ?

"Happy," She said with a smile and hugged him with welcome arms. "How've ya been?'

"Been good, kid. Haven't seen you in what, ten years?" He ruffled her hair and she smacked his hand away.

"Good memory." She shoved him off toward the mountain of luggage. "Now how bout you start loadin' that shit in the van?"

She reached for one of the bags at the same time as Juice did and their hands bumped. He smiled at her and God, that was a stunning smile. "Sorry about that." He outreached his hand to her. "Ortiz. Juice Ortiz."

She took his hand a shook it with a returning smile of her own and he felt it ripple down his spine. Her smile was nothing to be shrugged at either. "Roxanne." She said and picked up the bag that she had reached for.

"Hey, no, I got it," He offered. "That looks heavy, I can take it."

"I appreciate the chivalry, darling. But I think I can handle a bag." She laughed lightly at the look on his face. Something between confusion and amusement, and she strut away with the bag swaying her to the right slightly. He was right, the bag was quite heavy.

He watched her walk away like she was something of his next meal, even though he knew he shouldn't. He knew this was Chibs' daughter but Goddamn. That smile she had given him had drawn his eyes to her mouth and her lips were so full and perfect that it was unfair. Her walking away from him gave him the perfect opportunity to look over her body and he sure as hell was taking it. She was little, about a head shorter than him, but she had all the curves in every single one of the right places. And that hair of hers, the way the sun shone on the red made it almost glow. It was just short enough and the way it curled made it look like she had just been — wait, no.

What the hell was he doing? Checking out Chibs' daughter? Well, shit, he better tuck those thoughts away somewhere he can't get to those again. If he ever voiced his opinion on her in those regards then Chibs would probably have his head. He didn't realize how long he'd been standing there doing nothing so he shook his head in a quick jerk and stuffed his arms with bags. When they got everything settled, Happy and Juice climbed into the front and Chibs joined the girls in the back.

"I just can't believe how different you look, Roxanne," Chibs said. "You look just like your mother." He knew that she didn't exactly want to be here. Scotland was her home, she didn't want to leave, but she didn't really have much of a choice. But he just couldn't shake the happiness of getting to spend this much time with her.

She smiled at him, although there was a hint of sarcasm behind it. "Yeah, well, ten years will do that to a person."

"You haven't seen each other in ten years?" Juice piped up from the front.

"Was he around for that?" Roxanne jerked her head in Juice's direction and Chibs shook his head. "Ah. Well, the last time I came here to see Da was ten years ago and I was fifteen years old. It was a birthday present from me ma. She wasn't too keen on it but she knew that all I wanted to do for my birthday was to spend it with my da at least once."

"Aye. And leave me home alone in Glasgow while you went galavanting around California for two weeks," Charlotte said, still holding onto a ten-year grudge.

"Well, you're here now, ain't ya?" Roxanne replied with a smirk that she knew would get under Charlotte's skin. "Feel free to go galavanting all you want, love. After all, we're basically here on vacation, aren't we?"

"Oh, really? I make one joke about us maybe having some fun here while we're being dragged away from our home and our families and our friends to try and lighten the mood. You're just going to throw that in my face the whole time, that it?"

The girls continued to bicker on the way but they eventually pulled up to a quaint little house that the girls would be staying in, and Roxanne and Charlotte basically threw themselves out of the car. Chibs tossed the keys to Roxanne and she unlocked the door, and Charlotte shoved past her with a beaming smile on her face.

Juice went to go follow them but Chibs stopped him. "Nuh-uh, Juicy. You start haulin' the bags in." And with that, he followed Roxanne into the house and tried to smother his smile as he watched her about the house. It was odd because she was running around and exploring the house enthusiastically when not only moments ago she made it quite clear that she didn't exactly want to live here. The house wasn't anything extravagant, a simple two bedroom house, but it was fairly decent.

"Daddy, I love this house!" Roxanne yelled from the bedroom she had called dibs on. "It's perfect. Just right for us. Much better than the flat we have back home, to be honest with you."

Charlotte poked her head out from the kitchen and called down to Roxanne. "Shit, woman! Come look at this kitchen, you'll love it!"

While they were admiring the house still, Juice and Happy dragged the last of the luggage, at least the portion of it that wasn't currently being shipped, into the house. They had even broken a sweat. "Thanks for all the help, Chibs." Happy muttered as he made his way past the girls to grab a beer from the fridge.

Roxanne pressed her hand to her forehead. "Honestly, Da, this is amazing. You really outdid yourself on this one. I can't thank you enough."

"Ach. Don't mention it, princess." Chibs replied. "Had to make sure you get some joy out of bein' here."

"Impossible. You're here."

They laughed at each other shoved each other around. It reminded her of older times when things were simpler and it made her wonder how long this would last. This feeling of simplicity.

"So," Juice said, "you know you guys don't have any furniture right? Or like, a car or anything?"

Roxanne spun in a slow circle. When her "inspection" was complete she clicked her tongue. "Huh. No kiddin'. Y'know I actually hadn't noticed. Whatever will we do now?"

"Wow. We've been here what? An hour? She's already crackin' jokes," Charlotte said. She laughed and gestured towards their all too big pile of bags. "We got sleeping bags and shit packed away in there someplace. Rest of the furniture's gettin' shipped over here. Should be here in a day or two."

"Well, that solves that issue. But how are we gunnae get you girls to the party tonight?" Chibs asked them.

"Party? What party?" Roxanne asked. Of course. He just had to throw a party for this. Honestly, this didn't seem like an occasion fit for celebrating in her opinion.

"Oh please, Princess," He scoffed at her. "You really think I'd let you come back to Charming and not throw you a party?"

"Looks like Kiddo's got no idea what kind of guy her old man is." Happy said after a swig of his beer.

Roxanne rolled her eyes, "One, I have a very clear idea of what 'kind of man' my father is. And two, do not call me 'Kiddo.' I am a fully grown twenty-five-year-old woman."

"Hmm. That you are, Roxanne. That you are," Juice thought to himself as his eyes raked up and down that petite body of hers. He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit bad because, after all, this was Chibs' daughter. And he almost had a heart attack when he didn't tear his eyes off of Roxanne's ass in time before Chibs' eyes slid over to him. Why was he so entranced by this girl anyway? Hoards of women would be awaiting him back at the clubhouse. What was she to him?

"Just send some guys over to get us in a few hours, yeah?" Roxanne said and flicked her hair out of the way. Then flicked her wrist in the opposite direction to shoo the men out of their new home. "Alright boys, it's about time that you make yourselves scarce. We got shit to do and don't need you muckin' up the works."

* * *

"Do I look okay?" Charlotte asked, twirling around in the bathroom mirror. "I wanna make a good impression on all the boys tonight."

"Lord, Char, we talked about this. We're not here on a bloody manhunt!" Roxanne said as she finished winging out her eyeliner. "It doesn't matter how you look. But yes, you look fine."

The sound of motorcycles approached and Charlotte's eyes lit up. "Well, I bet that those are our knights in shiny black leather." She ruffled Roxanne's curly hair. "Let's go get em, yeah?"

"I can't stand you," said Roxanne and rolled her eyes, fixing the hair that Charlotte had just messed up, and gathered her things and her helmet and headed for the door.

"Well, helloooo, ladies," a dark-haired man said and whistled when the two Scottish girls stepped out of the house. "You didn't get all dressed up for us , now did ya?"

"Hello, Tig," Roxanne replied unethically and accepted the hug he wrapped her up in. "It's nice to see you too. Now," she whispered in his ear, "you better tuck than hard on away before I tell my father and have your arms ripped off."

"Ah, just like your old man, Rox," Tig said fondly and kissed her on the forehead. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your lovely friend?" Charlotte was climbing onto the back of Happy's bike and was paying Tig little mind, just like Roxanne had warned her to do.

"Nope," Roxanne said shortly and strapped her helmet on. "Now let's get to the clubhouse. I need a whiskey."

* * *

"Oh c'mon, Roxanne!" Tig said after he parked his bike outside of the Sons' clubhouse. "Just introduce us! I swear I won't even lay a finger on her."

Roxanne's eyes rolled so hard that it almost hurt. "Please, Tiggy, you're a wonderful liar but I can see right through that crock of shite. I'm sure there's plenty of pussy waiting for you right over there, now run along."

"You aren't wrong about that, but hey, can you blame me?" Tig laughed and kissed her on the forehead. "We missed you kiddo, have fun tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah yeah. Now go," Roxane said and pushed Tig toward the party that was already raging outside of, and probably inside, the clubhouse. She chuckled at how animalistic Tig already looked as he stalked up to the party. She loved that man and trusted him with her life, but he really was quite creepy.

"So, that's all for us, is it?" Charlotte asked after thanking Happy for letting her ride with him.

"Yep," Roxanne sighed. "All for us. I'm just glad they have plenty of Jameo in there to get me through this." The grills were fired up, men were already boxing in the ring, the rock music was so loud you could see it unsettling the smoke in the air, and patch members and crow eaters littered the outside. The party was wild, to say the least.

"Hey, what are you talking about? You love parties, there's plenty of cute men over there, cute girls too, depending on how drunk you get, and you got me. I'm sure this'll be great."

"I know," Roxanne sighed once more, and she looked to her best friend a little woefully. "These just aren't the circumstances I want to be partying in Charming with."

"I know, love, I know," Charlotte said and compassionately placed a hand on her best friend's cheek. "But come on, let's go get a drink. Maybe after a few of those, we can have a good time. At least for tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

Roxanne knocked back her fifth shot of Jameson within the first hour of her being at the clubhouse. Say anything about Roxanne Telford, but no one could ever say that she didn't know how to hold her alcohol.

"I have no idea how you do that shit," Charlotte said while grimacing, sipping on her vodka Sprite.

"And I don't get how you sip on those all night. C'mon, grow some bollocks and do a shot with me!"

"Oh," said Charlotte with raised eyebrows, "in the party mood now, are you? What happened to not being on vacation?"

"I have a lot of social interaction and 'Oh, Roxanne! I haven't seen you since you were a wee girl!' to deal with tonight. Believe me, _I'm_ not the one who's losing track on why we're here, but I _am_ going to need as many drinks as I can tonight. Plus," Roxanne looked over her shoulder at her father who had two crow eaters draped over him, " _that_. I cannot deal with that if I'm sober. Now come on, we're doing a shot."

Roxanne had Half-Sack pour her and Charlotte a shot of Jameson each and they snatched them up quickly.

"Alright," Charlotte said, eyeing her shot warily, "let's get this over with. Slàinte, love."

"Slàinte," Roxanne repeated. They clinked their glasses together, knocked them on the table, and threw them back. Charlotte's face screwed up and she had to fight the urge to cough while Roxanne just sat back and watched in amusement. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Yes," Charlotte rasped, "yes, it was so bad. I hate whiskey. Why do you make me do that shit, Rox?"

"Oh please," Roxanne laughed and rolled her eyes. "I should strip you of your Scottish patch just for saying that."

"What's that about stripping patches I hear over here?" A male voice said from behind them and the two girls turned. A tall man with shaggy blonde hair wearing a Sons of Anarchy cut with a "V. President" and "Men of Mayhem" patch sewn onto the ride side was standing before them. Charlotte had practically gone breathless at the sight of him.

"Jackson? Jackson Teller is that you?!" Roxanne said excitedly and smile quickly bloomed on her face.

"Little Roxanne Telford! How ya doin', sweetheart?" The two of them embraced tightly. They hadn't seen each other in ten years either but had kept in touch since they had met when they were younger. Roxanne and Jax had actually struck up quite the friendship. "I thought I told you to call me when you got to your house!"

"I know I know, I'm sorry! Char and I just got kind of busy, I swear I was gunnae call you I just got distracted." She slapped him on the chest and was a little surprised at how muscular it felt. He was about twenty the last time she had seen him but even then he wasn't that built. "You look great! How have you been, darling?"

"Yes, you do," Charlotte cut in and extended her hand out to Jax. "You do look great. Hi, I'm Charlotte Reid, Jackson, was it?"

Jax's eyes slide over to Roxanne for a second and chuckled before shaking Charlotte's hand and then kissing it. "Yeah, but you can call me Jax. I assume you're the friend that Rox was bringing along?"

"Mhm, that's 'lil old me. Hopefully, everything you've heard about me has been nothing but good, right Roxanne?" Charlotte said, flirting with Jax so intensely that Roxanne could practically taste it. Something that she didn't even know was possible.

"Haven't told him shit about you, actually," Roxanne said and scooped her cigarettes up off of the bar. "You have fun with that, Jackie. Get her another vodka Sprite for me, alright?" She kissed him on the cheek and started to walk away.

"Wait, Rox —" Charlotte started, but Roxanne turned around and started to walk backward away from the two of them.

"Hey," Roxanne shrugged and pulled a cigarette out of her pack with her lips, "this is what ya wanted, huh? Knock yourself out, love." She cringed as she felt her more carefree personality start to make an appearance with that sixth shot of Jameson. She laughed out loud at Charlotte's awestruck expression as Roxanne continued to walk backward away from her and Jax, Roxanne knew Charlotte was always more bark than bite. But before she could let that satisfaction sink in, she felt her back collide with the front of someone else's body. Oh boy, time for another reconnection.

"A little lost there, Scotty?" Another gruff male voice said from behind Roxanne and it stopped her dead in her tracks. It belonged to one of the only men who had ever intimidated her in her entire life.

She turned around slowly and painted a smile onto her face as she did so. "Hi, Clay!" she said, and let him pull her into about the hundredth hug that she had been given within the night. "How're you doin'?"

"Been real good, kid. How've you been?" When he pulled back he took a moment to really look at her. "My god, your dad said you grew up a whole lot, and he wasn't lying. I shouldn't even be calling you 'kid' anymore."

Roxanne forced a laugh. "Thank you! I've been better, but not as bad as I could be. I mean, I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Clay said, and fussed with her hair a bit, "you're real lucky for that. You remember that."

"Will do, sir," Roxanne said with a little mock solute.

Clay chuckled and gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. "Alrighty there, kiddo, I'll let you get going and enjoy the fun. Do me a favor and stay away from Tig, will ya?"

"Believe me, Clay, I'm workin' on it." They stood there in a bit of an awkward silence for a moment before Roxanne moved for the door. "Well, I'm gunnae head outside and have a smoke. It was nice seeing you."

Roxanne walked out of the clubhouse and sighed at the feeling of the cool night air on her skin. She found no relief from the raging party on the outside, there were still inebriated and high people wandering all over, some men with scantily clad women all over them. Roxanne usually had no issues with parties and she was more than familiar with this kind because of all the charter parties she attended in Glasgow, but she was a little overwhelmed at the moment and just wanted a moment to herself. Not only was she almost killed within the last month, but she had to uproot her whole life and learn how to live and function in Charming. It was a lot of information to download, and she was downloading everyone else's information as well.

One of the first people she had come into contact with that night had been none other than the biker queen herself, Gemma Teller Morrow. She had gone on for almost thirty minutes to Roxanne about less than half of what she had missed in the last ten years. Conflict with the Mayans, Jax's failed marriage with a crank addict who was pregnant with his child, Opie stepping away from the club after getting out of prison, and so much more that Roxanne could barely even remember. It was head spinning, to say the least.

She lit her cigarette and wandered around the outside of the clubhouse as she looked for somewhere more private to sit for a while, saying hi to Bobby and Piney as she did so. Her eyes landed on the roof of the clubhouse, a neat little spot that Jax had shown her the last time she had been in Charming. Perfect. She gripped her cigarette between her lips and trotted over to the side latter that led up to the roof and began her climb upwards. When she got up there she continued to puff on her cigarette and looked down onto the party below her. To her surprise, a smile actually crept its way onto her face.

Her father was out there now, too drunk to realize her sitting up there, and he was messing around with Jax and the man with the mohawk. Juice, she thought his name was, and she found herself wondering what his actual name was and how on earth he got that nickname. Charlotte looked so content draped under Jax's arm and Roxanne just prayed that she didn't fall in fall in love him with like she tended to do, that was the last thing that they needed right now. Her father had Juice pulled in close to him and was practically force feeding a beer into Juice's mouth, and Roxanne laughed. She knew that most people would not find these things endearing at all, but it was how she grew up. This is what she had always known and it felt like home.

Chibs finally let go of Juice and his eyes happened to flash up to the roof just as Roxanne was taking her flask out of her jacket pocket to take a hearty swig of Honey Jack. He smiled up at her and she wasn't sure why, but she smiled back and raised her flask to him. She pulled out another cigarette and lit it, looking away from him and turned her head to the streets of Charming.

"Home," Roxanne whispered sadly to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Damn. She really was beautiful. Juice was looking up at Roxanne as she sat up on the roof of the clubhouse. The moonlight was shining on her pale skin and highlighting the blue of her eyes. He couldn't really tell if her eyes were shining like that, but he just assumed since he had seen them earlier that day, and they were gorgeous. Her dark red hair looked silky and the alcohol and weed in through his system brought on the urge for him to run his hands through it, even though he tried to fight it.

"Now, boys, I want to make something very clear to you," Chibs slurred from the table bench. "My daughter," he clapped his hands on both Juice and Jax's shoulders, "you stay away from her, you hear? I don't wannae see either of breathing at her in the wrong way, savvy?"

"Oh, c'mon, Chibs," Jax scoffed, "none of us are going to push up on Roxanne. Besides," he pulled Charlotte closer to him, "I have my hands full with own Scottish fantasy. I'm set." Charlotte giggled and gave Jax a lingering kiss on the cheek.

"Aye," said Chibs. "Char, darling, you be careful with all that. Now," Chibs turned his attention to juice and grasped his face with two hands, "Juicy Boy, do you hear me? Not a hand on my Roxie, understand?"

Juice laughed and pried Chibs' handed off of him. "I understand, Chibs. It's not me who you should worry about. I would relay that message to Tig if I were you."

"Aye, you're right, Juicy. Do me a favor and do that for me, would ya? I'm gunnae go grab Sack and get him in the ring. I feel like making some money tonight."

"Sure man, no problem, I'll just go and —" Juice started to say before Chibs interrupted him by hopping off the bench and screaming, "SACK!" and went off to find Half-Sack. Once Chibs was clear and Jax was busy enough with Roxanne's friend, Juice made his way to the side of the clubhouse and looked up at the ladder. He knew Chibs told him to not even breathe in Roxanne's direction the wrong way, but he couldn't help himself tonight. He climbed the ladder quietly and smiled to himself when he saw her sitting there.

She was facing away from him and looking out over Charming. Even without her looking at him he could tell how beautiful she looked, and the way her midriff peeked out from her shirt and her black jeans hugged her hips drove him crazy. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out something less than stupid to say to her, but nothing came to mind. Roxanne wasn't just some crow eater and he could tell she probably wouldn't fall over at every word that he said like the other women die.

"Hey, mouth breather," Roxanne called out over her shoulder, effectively breaking him out of his thoughts. "Subtlety isn't exactly your strong suit. So, are you just gunnae stare at me, or come and join me?"

Juice smiled and walked over to her, sitting on the wall adjacent to the air conditioning unit she was sitting on. "Hey, sorry about that. Zoned out a bit, I guess."

"Oh, hi," Roxanne said and took another drag from her cigarette, already the third one she's had since he saw her walk outside. "Juice, right?"

"Yep," Juice gestured to himself grandly, "that's me. At your service."

"Oh," Roxanne said and smiled coyly at him. "Are you? Well, that's nice to know, thank you." She took another drag of her cigarette and carelessly let her eyes roam over him. She seemed way less wound up than she had been earlier, and he couldn't tell if he liked it or if it made him nervous.

"W-well, yeah," Juice sputtered over his words, "if you ever need something hacked into or something. Like if you get locked out of your computer or forget your garage code or something, I don't know." As much as he didn't want to he tried to derail the flirting that was already taking place. _She was Chibs' daughter._

Roxanne took another sip of Jack and sighed. "Damn, you must be the brains here then?"

Juice laughed and rubbed his hand over his mohawk. "I mean, I'm pretty tech savvy but I wouldn't call myself the brains here. But thank you."

"Calm down, sweetheart," Roxanne said and offered him the flask. "Why do you seem so nervous? Here, have a drink." She looked at him expectantly and he took the about half-full flask from her and wondered if it was full when she first climbed up here.

"Thanks," said Juice and he took a drink of the alcohol. Oh, it was Jack. But then again, he expected nothing less from the daughter of Chibs. She could probably outdrink him if she wanted to. "So, what're you doing up here? Party's downstairs."

Roxanne sighed and ran a hand through her hair, and Juice's eyes followed it diligently. "I know. And it was very sweet of you guys, but I just needed a second." She pulled out her pack of cigarettes, Marlboro Black Reds. Wow, this girl could really handle her shit. "Smoke?"

"Sure, thanks," he said again and took a cigarette from her pack, offering up his Zippo and lighting it before she could fish hers out of her pocket. She looked at him inquisitively as he held the flame in front of her. "Pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes, right?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment before chuckling and leaning forward to meld her cigarette with the flame. Juice's eyes were trained on her lips around her cigarette and a chill ran down his spine, and he mentally kicked himself for it. "Right," Roxanne said and took a long drag. "Thanks."

"No problem," Juice replied and lit his own cigarette. "Not one for parties then?"

"It's not that," Roxanne said and sighed again. "I typically am, I've just had a lot to deal with tonight, with the move and all. Plus, I've had a lot of catching up to do. No one here has seen me in ten years and wants to hear all about me and tell me all about what they've done in the last ten years. It's exhausting." She unscrewed the cap of her flask and downed another good amount, and Juice was amazed at well she could take a shot.

"Well," Juice offered, "if it makes you feel any better, I didn't know you ten years ago. You don't have to tell me anything and I have nothing to catch you up on."

Roxanne exhaled smoke and smiled at him. "That's very refreshing but doesn't make me feel much better. I just —" she sighed again and looked back over Charming, "I miss home."

"How long do you have to stay for?" Juice asked, even though he didn't want to think about her leaving. She just got here.

"Who knows. I'm not even going to pretend like I don't know that you already know why I'm here."

Juice crossed his arms. "What do you mean?" He asked from around his cigarette.

"Oh, please," Roxanne laughed ruefully. "You sit around that table. I know my da had to tell you guys the whole situation so in case anything happens you all know what to look for. What to keep your eyes open for. I'm not mad about it, it's for me and Char's protection, but still. I have no idea how long I'm gunnae be here for. This is gunnae go one of three ways. One, Samglas finds the prick back home and offs him before he can get to me. Two, he somehow finds me here and I kill him. Or three, he finds me and I'm dead." The way she sucked on her cigarette after that last part let it show how stressed she was about all this, and she was starting to slur.

"Hey," Juice said and moved to sit next to her, putting his arm around her, "don't say that. Don't worry, Roxanne, that's not going to happen. We're here to protect you. It's going to be fine."

"I know," Roxanne said and yet again, drank from her flask. "That's another thing that bothers me. Protection detail. Someone following me around, being posted at my house all the time. Bye bye to privacy."

"Hey, come on, we're only going to be posted if there's a reason for it. There's been no sign of that asshole or any of his buddies anywhere near here. You're fine." Juice rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"You're right. Ugh, I'm sorry, Juice. I shouldn't be unloading all this shite to you right. I'm just tired and dealing with a lot and I've had a bit to drink and —"

"Hey," Juice interrupted her, "I'm not complaining. We all got shit, right?"

"Right," Roxanne said quietly and threw away her spent cigarette. They sat without speaking for a few minutes and Juice reveled in the feeling of his arm around this beautiful girl. This was probably as far as he would ever, or should ever, get with her, but then Roxanne broke the silence. "Hey, would you mind taking me home?"

"Yes," Juice said quickly. "I-I mean, no. I don't mind but your dad didn't ask me to and he's been very clear about who's allowed to leave with you and —"

"Juice," Roxanne said and pressed a finger to his mouth, "Shh. I'm asking you to take me home. Nothing more, nothing less. My dad, if he's not otherwise _occupied_ , will be fine with it." She got up and sauntered over to the ladder, and Juice's eyes followed her hips. His heart dropped into his stomach when she turned and caught him looking. "Unless you've given him a reason not to trust you with me." She laughed and started climbing down the ladder.


End file.
